Bless the Broken Road
by teenage-dirtbag
Summary: OneShot. I couldn't see how every sign pointed straight to you, Every long lost dream led me to where you are...


**Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill, its characters and this beautiful song I used.**

**This song is entitled "Bless the Broken Road" by Rascal Flatts. Its lyrics is totally awesome, and I just had to write something with it! Anyway, hope you enjoy. :)**

_**I set out on a narrow road, many years ago**_

_**Hoping I would find true love along the broken road**_

flashback

_"I've wanted this for so long," Lucas said, staring at Peyton's eyes. He couldn't believe that they were here, together._

_"Me too." She replied, kissing Lucas all over his face. "And now we can have it."_

_"No, no, no." Lucas said apprehensively, holding Peyton's hands and stopping her. "I don't mean just that. I want this." He put his hands over her heart, indicating what he meant."You know? I want to be here. I want to have everything with you. I want it all. I want us, Peyton." He said, speaking the words he didn't think he would ever say to her._

_Peyton backed away. She wanted it too, but she was too terrified of the fact that she might lose it. She thought Nathan and her would last forever, and now it was over. She didn't want to love Lucas and risk getting hurt again. Lucas stared at her with a questioning face, because he knew that she wanted it too. _

_"Hey, what's wrong?" Lucas asked, drawing closer._

_"This isn't supposed to be that." She said coldly, preventing fresh tears from falling out of her eyes. She tried to look him in the eye and cover up the lie she just told him._

_"Peyton--" Lucas said, going closer. He didn't understand. She wanted it too. Then why was she moving away?_

_"Why couldn't you just leave it alone?" She shouted, turning and running away fast enough so that Lucas won't see the tears fall. Her heart screamed for her to turn around but her body won't let her._

end of flashback

_**But I got lost a time or two**_

_**Wiped my brow and kept pushing through**_

flashback

_Lucas couldn't believe what Peyton just said to him. He had wanted to hear those words so long ago, and he stil wanted to hear them now. It was just that she was too late. _

_"Peyton--" Lucas said, trying to explain. It would burn him to hurt her._

_"But the truth is, I want all the same things you want, I do. And I want them with you." She said, sincerity and love in her eyes. It was all so clear to her now. She would risk everything just to be with Lucas, even if it meant getting hurt. And that was what she felt when she saw Brooke, wearing his oversized sweatshirt. No one had to explain anything. She looked into his eyes. She knew she didn't belong here, so she turned around and shut the door. She started to cry._

end of flashback

Lucas drove around Tree Hill after Brooke left. He thought she would stay for him. He expected a better answer than 'I'm sorry.' He wanted to let his mind wander off, so he could forget everything. Forget he ever loved her. He wanted so much to go back to the world where it was just Haley and him. No drama, no fathers and no half-brothers. Just his old world.

flashback

_Lucas held Anna in his arms. Maybe she was the one for him. He felt contented as he stared into her eyes. He didn't notice the other couples dancing all around them, it was just him and her._

_"I'm really glad we did this," Anna said sincerely._

_He smiled. "Me too."_

end of flashback

_**I couldn't see how every sign pointed straight to you**_

_**Every long lost dream lead me to where you are**_

_**Others who broke my heart were like northern stars**_

_**Pointing me on my way into your loving arms**_

flashback

_Lucas drove near the beach when he spotted a familiar car parked nearby. It was Peyton's car. He knew that Jake had just left, and she was still trying to recuperate from the incident. The wounds were still fresh, just like his. He parked his car near hers, and tried to spot her. He finally found her there, alone. He guessed she was crying again. He walked towards her, and sat down beside her. _

_"Looks like it's just you and me this summer." He said, breaking the silence. Peyton looked at him and nodded sadly, then leaned in for a warm hug. He closed his eyes, letting the sound of crashing waves fill his head, letting them drown out Brooke's voice. He didn't need to be miserable with Peyton. He just needed to be there, just like she did with him._

end of flashback

It had been a month since Brooke left, and Peyton and Lucas spent every imaginable time together. In the morning, they ate breakfast together at the cafe. In the afternoon, Lucas would teach her basketball, or she would teach Lucas how to draw. In the evening, he helped her manage TRIC, which had become quite popular after she booked Jimmy Eat World for a gig. Later after that, they drove around Tree Hill and often stopped on the beach. This had become quite a routine for them.

"Luke," Peyton said softly, as she nudged Lucas. She had been early, because they always agreed to meet at nine in the morning. It was seven thirty am. Lucas grunted in reply, pulling his comforter to cover his face. "Five more minutes, mom." He mumbled.

Peyton smiled. She remembered smiling her first genuine smile a week after Brooke left, when Lucas showed her the box that Brooke was talking about.

flashback

_"I cannot believe you kept this!" Peyton exclaimed excitedly, looking at Lucas' face. His expression had some sort of lazy pride. She shuffled through the many pictures and letters and drawings that she made for Lucas before. _

_"You know me." Lucas said, smiling. He bent over to look at the pictures with Peyton. _

_Peyton saw the drawing she made of her and Lucas in Dan's house, when he said he wanted her but she stupidly declined. She smiled, this time a real smile, because she realized that her history with Lucas was something worth treasuring._

_He knew that her smile was real and genuine. He loved these moments when they could worry about nothing in the world but themselves._

end of flashback

"Lucas!" She whispered loudly into his ear. Lucas turned to the direction of her head, which was still down. He opened his eyes. He saw Peyton's face extremely near his, watching him with a sarcastic smile. He got up.

"What time is it?" He asked sleepily, looking at Peyton. She sat down beside him.

"Seven thirty." She answered, her tone of voice evidently very awake.

"We are supposed to meet at nine. Which means I have an hour and a half left of sleep." Lucas said, reasoning out. Peyton knew Lucas hated to be woken up early. It was kind of a guy thing. But she knew that she would be amused with his reaction, so she went and did it anyways. "Why'd you wake up so early?" He asked, giving a huge yawn.

"I didn't." Peyton replied, then she started bouncing up and down the bed. "I couldn't sleep. Just about tried everything that could make me sleep too. Did you know that the EU is rejecting the proposed constitutions?" She asked.

"I can see you watched the news." Lucas said deadpan. "But please let me sleep!" He whined, checking his alarm clock to see how many precious minutes he had left of sleep.

"But Luke--" Peyton said, drawing her face close to his and making the best doe eyes she could do. She pouted her lip for added effect. Lucas gave a small laugh.

"Well if you can't sleep," He said, suddenly pulling her down the bed, "Then you'll sleep with me. And I mean really sleep." He said, his arms around Peyton's waist. She held his hand, and after a minute, she could hear Lucas' soft breathing. After a minute more, she herself was finally sleeping.

They both woke up at eleven thirty am, still with Lucas' arms around Peyton's waist and Peyton holding his hands. He had been the first one to wake up, and the first one to realize that they were still in the same position. He buried his face in her hair to wake her, and she replied by yawning and turning around to face him.

"Morning, loser." Peyton greeted, smiling slightly. Lucas was still holding her.

"Right back atcha." He said, looking at her and smiling. Peyton got up, and grabbed a pillow. She started to hit Lucas in the stomach.

"Ow!" He exclaimed, getting up.

"We totally ruined our schedule. It's too late for breakfast now." Peyton said, hugging the pillow she used to hit Lucas.

"What time is it?" He asked. He glanced at his alarm clock which read eleven thirty. He looked back at Peyton, still looking at the pillow she was hugging. "What do you say we make like the British and have brunch?" he asked, grinning.

Peyton laughed. "Oh, that is a marvelous idea! We''l have tea and scones and all that." she said, feigning a fake british accent.

"Scones are for afternoon tea, my dear." Lucas replied in the same british accent, but worse.

"Oh bother. I suppose we'll have whatever we can find." She sighed, still in a british accent. Lucas laughed, and she laughed with him. They both stood up from where they were sitting. Lucas took off his shirt and grabbed a towel.

"I'll just go take a bath," he said to Peyton, in his normal accent. "Wait for me?"

She glanced at his clock. "Fifteen minutes or I'm flushing the toilet." She said jokingly. Lucas walked out of the room. She looked around, and remembered certain memories. Some good, some bad, and some even not worth describing. She started to fold the covers and fix the pillows.

flashback

_"Remember that the pencil is not a death weapon." Peyton told him. It was the second week after Brooke left, and they finally established a routine. It was three thirty pm, and she was teaching him how to draw. They sat on the floor, their backs on the side of the bed._

_"I suck." Lucas said, throwing the pencil at the wall. Peyton smiled at him, and got her pencil. She gave it to Lucas, and motioned for him to hold it. She then held his hand and guided it._

_"Gently. Don't push it too hard," She coached, still guiding his hand. She could feel that his hand was shaking. "Relax. Just think about the drawing, and nothing else." She finally let go of his hand, and he was finally getting the hang of it. He stopped and looked at Peyton with a thankful smile. She smiled back._

_"Someday..." He said gently, never removing his eyes off Peyton._

_"I know." She replied._

end of flashback

Their brunch comprised of iced tea, left over cheescake from yesterday, a big bag of doritos, salsa and fresh fruit Deb was glad to bring over. They talked and laughed and played while eating, and to them it was the most fun meal they have ever had. After that, they walked around a while, admiring the summery look of Tree Hill, making up stories about people as they went along. They saw a woman with straight, pale blonde hair walking while drinking some fruit shake. Peyton studied her expression closely.

"That girl is confused." Peyton said to Lucas, continuing their little game.

"She must be thinking about something really hard." Lucas added, nodding. "Collage or something like that."

"She must be a musician. I wonder if we should ask her?" Peyton wondered, stopping and contemplating on her next step. "She could launch her debut at TRIC."

Lucas nodded, so they both decided to come over the other side of the road. But, just as they were halfway across, a blonde man jogged in the opposite direction the woman was walking in. He stopped, and the two of them started conversing. Lucas stared hard at their facial expressions. The man had his hands in his pockets, and the girl started fidgeting with her cup which had little beads of moisture.

"Tension. Definitely." Lucas concluded.

"There's something between them," Peyton added, studying the couple further. After a few seconds gazing on the girl, she said: "She loves him."

"But how come they're not like, um, love people?" He asked, looking at Peyton.

"They probably don't want to admit it yet. But the strange vibe thing is really going on." Peyton said, and went back to the other side of the road. Lucas followed her.

"But they're going to figure it out, right?" He asked, hopeful. Peyton turned to him and smiled.

"Of course. People like that always have happy endings." She said unconvincingly before walking on. Lucas had an unsure expression on his face.

flashback

_It was the thrid week after Brooke left, and Peyton just closed down TRIC for the night. Lucas was helping her count all the money they've earned tonight. After computing, she put it in a safe metal box with a pretty big lock. Lucas wandered off near the sound system. She got a diet soda from the refrigerator and drank it. _

_"Lucas," she shouted, "You like some soda?" She asked as she took another gulp._

_"No thanks." He muffled, which indicated that he was far away from where Peyton was. She rolled her eyes and inspected all the glasses. Suddenly, she heard slow music eminating from the speakers. She then saw the lights adjusted dimly, which caused the glitter in the floor to sparkle. She finally saw Lucas coming out of the dark, smiling smugly. He extended his hand to her._

_"No raise." She said adamantly, albeit jokingly. She went nearer to him._

_"I owe you a dance," he said, "during the Tree Hill formal. I'm sorry I sort of ignored you before." He said sincerely._

_"You don't need to dance with me," Peyton said, although her eyes were giving her away._

_"Sure you do." He said, taking her hands. She rolled her eyes and went along, swaying slowly to the rhythm of the song. She couldn't look at Lucas directly, instead she focused her eyes on the chair near the stage. After the song, another slow one started but instead of dancing, they sat down near the stage._

_"Did you really love him?" Lucas asked, assuming that the topic of Jake could now be discussed._

_"I guess, I mean I miss him terribly." She said sadly, as she twirled her hair. "But I'm glad..."_

_She started, finally looking at Lucas."I'm glad that I've been able to spend all this time with you."_

_Lucas smiled at her. "How about Brooke?" She asked. Lucas was taken aback, but he was able to answer._

_"She didn't feel the way that I did, or else she would've stayed." He sighed. "I mean, it's really a matter of not just feeling it, but wanting it. I guess we weren't ready."_

_Peyton moved closer to Lucas and put her head on his shoulder. He put his arm around her, and for a few minutes, they sat there, just listening to the music._

_"Thank you for being here." Lucas whispered._

_"Ditto." She replied, and closed her eyes._

end of flashback

After walking around, they drove to Rivercourt. Lucas was teaching Peyton how to make the hook shot. He had to admit that she was getting better at this basketball thing, and maybe at the end of the summer, she'd be half as good as Nathan. After thirty minutes, she made some of her shots, which Lucas counted as progress.

"Remember, it's all in the wrist." Lucas said while running and dribbling the ball, and passing it to Peyton. She caught it with great efficiency and tried again. She missed the shot.

"Come on," He said as he caught the ball and passed it again to her. "You can do it." She shot the ball again and this time it went in. She jumped and cheered in her typical cheerleader fashion.

"Score!" She shouted happily, waving her arms and jumping around. Lucas laughed.

"Take five." He said, going to the bench and sitting down. Peyton jogged after him and did the same. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and grabbed the water bottle that they brought along. She drank most of it, and she splashed what remained to Lucas.

"Hey!" He said, getting the water bottle and trying to sprinkle her with water. A few drops fell down. Peyton stuck out her tongue at him, so he started to tickle her. They ran around, avoiding each other until Peyton jumped on his back and he tried to throw her in the river. She got down and ran towards the bench.

"Okay! Stop." She said in surrender. He laughed and walked slowly towards her. He slomped down the bench and breathed heavily.

"Okay. That's enough basketball lessons for now." He said in between breaths while laughing.

flashback

_"And why are we doing this again?" Lucas asked, while he carried the flashlight that lead them to the football field in the school. It has been four weeks since Brooke left. He went to the middle of the field and they stopped there._

_"It's a time capsule. Ten years from now, we'll be coming back to Tree Hill, if ever we leave, and look back on our teenhood." Peyton said, sitting down on the ground._

_"Isn't that video tape enough?" Lucas asked, sitting down with her._

_"They can edit that thing. This is for real." She said, opening the contents of the shoebox. Inside, Peyton put a pencil, her first ever sketch that made the magazine, her cheerleader top, a picture of her and Brooke, another picture of her and Lucas. Lucas put the Scott patch in his jersey, a page of his geometry notebook, a picture of him and Nathan with Haley, and like Peyton's, a picture of him and her. Finally, they put a letter addressed to their future selves. Peyton closed the lid and covered it in plastic. Lucas started to dig, and after a certain depth, Peyton put the shoebox inside. He started to put back the soil and Peyton put on top some artificial grass that looked like the grass in the field. _

_"Did you put that bit in the letter?" He asked as they walked away._

_"Of course." She said, smiling._

_LETTER_

_... Lucas: if ever you're with Brooke now, that's really cool. _

_...Peyton: if ever you're with Jake now, that's really nice._

_... And if ever you're together now, that really is freakishly awesome. But if you're not with anyone, promise us, your old selves that you'll get married to each other. Peyton doesn't want to be an old maid and Lucas doesn't want to be alone (ha ha). Besides, you're best friends. That'll work out somehow..._

end of flashback

It was night time and Lucas and Peyton were sitting down the swing in Lucas' porch. They were drinking hot coco, and chatting. After rivercourt, they drove by Tree Hill High and stared at the building, just listening to music on Peyton's car. After the songs turned pop-ish, they drove by the cafe to pick up hot coco.

"It feels like forever." Peyton said silently, sipping from her cup.

"Its only been a month," Lucas replied, looking at her. He had to admit why he and Jake managed to fall in love with her. The moonlight radiated from her face, accentuating her soft blonde curls and her shining eyes; she looked like an angel.

"I know." She said, looking at Lucas. "And I hate myself for loving every day of it." Lucas could see tears in her eyes, glimmering in the light of the moon.

"You know you deserve to be happy." Lucas said, brushing away a strand of hair from her face. She smiled slightly.

"It's not supposed to be like this..." She whispered, turning away. Lucas could see her wipe a tear from her face. Like a reflex action, he drew closer to her.

"Hey," He said, and Peyton turned to him. "The heart doesn't make mistakes."

"You sure?" She asked with a small laugh. It was obvious that she didn't believe him.

"Yes," Lucas answered, turning to the street. He looked at the window next door. A silhouette of a woman turned off the light.

"Then why..." Peyton started. She realized what she was about to say, and summoned up what was left of her to stop it. "Forget it." She whispered, wiping both of her eyes. She took a long sip from her coco. Lucas looked at her questioningly. It was like he was anticipating what she was about to say.

"What?" He asked, waiting for the answer he was hoping for.

"Lucas..." She said, her tone indicating that she didn't want to say. His eyes showed understanding. He got up and turned to the door.

"I'm gonna get some cookies. Want some?" He asked, smiling.

Peyton tried to smile back. "You know me." She said. She closed her eyes and let the wind go through her. She heard the door close.

"Then why am I not with you?" She whispered, hoping the words that escaped her lips will never be heard by anyone. A car passed by, blaring music that she could feel vibrating in her chest. After a few moments, she opened her eyes and sighed, wiping another tear from her face.

Lucas was speechless. He opened the door, and then the wind blew. He didn't want the wind to come in and disorganize his drawings, so he closed the door to wait for the wind to pass. That's when he heard what Peyton wanted to say. He knew she thought he was inside, or else she wouldn't have said anything. A car blaring music passed by, so he took that opportunity to go in.

A few minutes later, Peyton decided to come in and help him. She took his cup of coco and went inside. She could see that the house was lit with lamps, which made it very roomy. She found Lucas sitting on the counter, in deep thought. She went beside him.

"Misplaced the cookies?" She asked jokingly.

He got down from the counter so he could stand in front of her. "You were right." He said.

Peyton mistook the meaning. "It must be in here somewhere," she said in a hopeful tone. When she turned to look in the cupboards, Lucas got her hand to prevent her from moving. She turned around, looking at him.

"Peyton..." He whispered. "The heart doesn't make mistakes." He said, taking her hand. "It just gets lost... and finds its way."

"Where'd you get that, Hemingway?" She asked sarcastically.

"No. Here." He said, guiding their hands to his chest, like what happened a year ago at Dan's party, except that Peyton wasn't moving. She wasn't turning away. He put down his hand and caressed her face, then leaned in for a soft, innocent kiss.

"It's you..." Lucas whispered, pulling away. Peyton smiled and they again kissed, but this time a more passionate one. Everything that wasn't said was understood. They pulled away, and leaned their heads against each other. They were smiling contentedly. They knew that they could be this way forever.

A month since Brooke left. They had found the way back.

_**This much I know is true**_

_**That God blessed the broken road**_

_**That led me straight to you**_

**Hope you liked that. Do you remember? That song was sung in American Idol and I just fell in love with the lyrics. Please review to tell me what you think. Thanks guys:D**


End file.
